Princess of Thieves
by Dramafool
Summary: In the Kingdom of Remalna, before the days of Meliara and Vidanric, a prince catches a girl stealing a portrait. The girl's name? The Princess of Thieves. just a warning: this is fluff, through and through.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The following is a record of several lives in the time of King Rupert IV and the Queen Maybelle. They had many sons and daughters, and in order of age (oldest to youngest), they are Crown prince Liam, princess Emilia, princess Laura, prince Adam, and the youngest, princess Ruth. Two of this royal family play important parts in this part of history.

This record is about a magical attack on one of the royal blood and how it was narrowly defeated. It is how four totally different people can make a large difference in whether people live or die. It is how the children of two utterly different families can defeat evil together.

It is also about romance , secret identities, and magic.

This is their account of what happened and how it happened, and this account was written down now in the year of King Liam XI and his lady wife. The account is from the points of view of two commoners, Stefan and Rosalie, and the prince (now King), Liam.

Here is something that should be known while reading this document. The old law that says that no commoners should be allowed inside of the castle unless they are servants has been abolished during the reign of King Liam. It used to be that if a commoner entered the palace grounds, he would suffer the wrath of the King, be it imprisonment, death, or extreme humiliation.

So here's the story of a Crown prince, a powerful magician, and a Princess of Thieves.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: I own nothing. Nor do I claim to. The end.**

**Rosalie's POV: **

**Chapter One**

**I woke up in the morning to a normal, sunny day. It was the kind of day that you don't think much about. I got dressed and got ready to leave my tent in search of something to eat for breakfast. When I dipped into the pockets of my breeches for money, I came out only with some lint. _Oh well, _I thought. _That won't be a problem._**

**I'm not an apprentice, or a merchant's daughter. If I were, I'd have some money.**

**I'm a thief, and one of the best ones out there. I've defeated many people competing for my title. I show no mercy, and I'm only 19 years old.**

**People don't call me Rosalie, Princess of Thieves for anything. I'm a good at my trade, and I have my pride. I make it a point not to steal from anyone who can't afford it. It would dirty my good reputation. And believe me, it's very clean. I'm not married, not engaged, not courting anyone, not- any of that other stuff. Even though some would call me pretty, I like to argue. But beauty is handy to use in a fix.**

**When I got back to my tent, I was surprised to see my "mentor" Alex, wearing a big, sly grin on his face. Alex was a big pain. He arrived on my doorstep and attached himself to my brother Stefan and me, ever since. He claims that he is my guide, but I thought that he was just a big pain in the you-know-where.**

"**What do you want?" I asked him suspiciously. There was no telling what he was up to when he had that look on his face. Most of his plans were those that I had to carry out. **

"**Oh," he said. "I was just wondering whether you're as good a thief as you look. Nothing personal, of course, but…"**

**I raised an eyebrow, suspicious. But since I had nothing to do that morning, I accepted the bait. **

"**Oh, yeah!" I said hotly. "Well I'm better than you are, doubtless. I can steal anything from anywhere!"**

**I could see Alex's grin grow wider in delight. _Oh oh,_ I thought. _I shouldn't have said that_.**

"**Anywhere?" he said, slowly. "Are you sure. I'll bet that you couldn't steal anything undetected from the palace. No one's done that for years." He saw the refusal on my face and added, "Of course, if you think that it's too hard…" He trailed off.**

**I shouldn't have accepted. I was a very stupid thing to do. "I'll do it," I almost screamed at him. Then I calmed down, thinking what I had just gotten myself into. When someone accepts a bet from Alex, he doesn't let that person forget it.**

"**When?" I asked him. I suspected that he was jealous of me, and wanted to get rid of the competition.**

"**As soon as you've gathered all the tools that you need to get what you're going to from the castle. And it better not be anything easy. Try jewels or gold."**

**As soon as he said that, I began to have forebodings. Lots of my family was in prison for trying to steal something big like that. It wasn't even easy to get _into _the castle in the first place. For one thing, it was a lifetime of prison if a commoner who didn't work at the palace went in there. If the King was in a really bad mood, he could even have them killed.**

**It was dangerous at the palace.**

**When I arrived at the gates of the castle, the guards stopped me.**

"**What do you think you're doing?" one of them asked. "Do you know what happens to peasants who enter the palace?"**

**I nodded, not very worried. These guards didn't look very smart.**

"**Well," said the other guard reaching towards me to hold onto my chin and tilt my face up. I flinched away. "You have a pretty little face. I wouldn't like to see it dirtied with the grime of the cells."**

**At this, I drew myself up imperiously. "I'll have you know that I am on secret business for her Royal Highness, Princess Emilia. I bring her information of how things go outside of the palace. I demand that you let me pass, or suffer the consequences," I said pompously, enjoying watching their expressions change.**

**The guards backed away from me, chattering apologies and trying to get behind one another. Neither wanted to know what "the consequences" were. I passed them, sniffing disdainfully at the very real and disgusting smell that hung around them, and trying to keep a straight face.**

**So there I was, creeping around the halls of the palace, peeking into all the opened doors for an empty room with something worth stealing, and ducking if I saw anyone coming. The only person that would be safe to see would be my older brother, Stefan, who worked as a serving-boy. Stefan was also in love with the very princess Emilia that I had included in my alibi (though I wasn't sure how he knew her), and had spent the last month obsessing over her. He had even gone as far as to tell me that she loved him back. I had told him that that would only happen in his dreams. But I still had to be very careful. Other people might not be fooled by my excuse.**

**I stopped. Was that a flash of _gold_ in that room? Yes it was, but the room was filled with men armed with swords, playing cards. But cards or not, they looked extremely dangerous and well trained in the art of death.**

**It went on like that for a while. Empty room, room with guards and gold, and my favorite, the room with the opened door and the noblewoman cheating on her husband. Until I saw it. A beautiful painting of a lady hanging in an empty room. I don't mean to say that the lady was beautiful. Ha! Far from it. I would have liked to meet the artist, though. **

**The painting wasn't very big. On the contrary, it was quite small. Just the size to fit inside my tunic, in fact. Perfect.**

**I stood looking at it for almost five minutes. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away. When I could stop, I looked around to see if anyone was coming, _quietly_ took the painting from the hook and frame, and rolled it up. I had just started to slide it into my tunic when I felt a hand on my arm. _Oh, jeez, _I thought. Then I slowly turned around, and looked into the greenest eyes that I had ever seen.**

**That is how I met the Crown prince of Remalna for the first time.**

**A/N: Well, I'm not going to beg for reviews or anything, but... please please please please pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze review! I am but a lost child, new to this fanfiction scene. I shall love you forever and ever if you review!**


	3. Chapter Two

A/N: A request has been put in for a timeline. To tell you truly, I hadn't put much thought into exactly how far ahead of Mel and Danric's story this is. I'd say that this story takes place approxomitly 100 years ahead of Mel and Danric. I also send out a big thank you to those who have reviewed. Thank you.

Stefan's POV:

Chapter Two

I have seen the girl of my dreams. She may be none other than Princess Emilia of Remalna, the second oldest child in the royal family, but she is the girl for me.

Who am I? I'm Stefan, one of the only commoners in the world to receive mage-training at Court. No one but me knows it, of course. And since that I have become the most powerful mage at Court. Around the palace I wear a servant's clothes, and to the people who come for my aid, I am Jonathon (Jon) Cordweaver. My sister, Rosalie, would never accept the fact that I'm one of the most powerful mages in the world.

I got picked off the streets when I was young, maybe eight or nine years old. My master was the powerful Oranis Collathor, one of the most renowned mages throughout the land. I can still remember our conversation as if it were yesterday. I had tried to steal a seeing crystal out of his bag. Of course, he had caught me red-handed. He had spells on everything in that bag, as I later learned (again) the hard way, when I tried to take something out of them for one of my experiments.

"What have we here? A little pickpocket?" he had said. Then he had looked very hard at me, and a look that was almost surprise crossed his face.

I was shaking my head violently and trying to twist away. I was ashamed because my seven-year old sister, Rosalie, was a better thief than I was. But Oranis wouldn't let go. He just stood there, concentrating. It unnerved me, the way that his eyes looked deep into me, deeper than I could ever look into myself. Suddenly he let go, but I found that I couldn't run. I could move, but I just didn't want to run.

He smiled at me. "You have special talent, my young friend. Tell me- what is your name?"

"Stefan," I squeaked out, completely bewildered.

"Well, Stefan. Would you like to go back to Court with me? I could teach you wondrous things. You have it in you. You have both power and determination. It's all in here." He tapped my chest.

At first I was unwilling. But then Oranis began to tell me stories, wonderful stories of the magnificent things that I could do if I went with him. So, like the stupid little boy that I was, I let him take me there. I know now that I should have run as soon as his spell left me.

Things went well for a couple of years, and I discovered things that I had never known existed. Then one day, I arrived at mage Court, and saw a larger bustle than usual. I asked what was going on and one of my friends, a man named Denny, said that there was going to be an attack on the mages of the Court by an unknown magician. It was a very _powerful_ unknown magician. The fight would be outside the city limits , carefully planned by the mages at mage Court, so that the least amount of innocent people could be hurt. If this man won, then he could easily take over Remalna.

The battle went on for three days. I was not permitted to fight, since I was a student. But I was headstrong, and I snuck along with them.

I wish that I hadn't. I can still hear the screams in my head as men from both sides fought and died in horrible ways. What made matters worse was that they all looked the same as they looked death in the face, and then joined the never-ending spiral of spirits, in the Death-World.

I saw Denny and more of my friends get mowed down before my very eyes by an unseen hand. And worst of all, I saw Master Oranis get killed to in a face-to-face battle with the magician. Nothing less could have taken such a great mage down. I can remember the gaping hole that yawned inside of me. Suddenly all that I wanted to do was strike out and kill. I felt all of my power rip away from me, bent on destroying this magician who had killed the man that I loved as much- probably more- than my own father.

There were no screams, no yells of pain. The magician and his minions simply disappeared- forever.

I got into a lot of trouble for sneaking along, but everyone treated me with a whole lot more respect after that. It took a while for my magic to return to me, but it happened, and I knew that I could do anything after that. I was scared of myself. And that hole kept on inside of me.

Until I saw Emilia.

The King and Queen had heard of the exploits of Jonathon Cordweaver, but they'd never seen him. They never expected that the man walking along the corridors of the palace in servant's robes was really one of the most powerful magicians of all time. But when I saw Emilia, that yawning hole filled up, just a bit.

But the scar is still somewhere on my heart.

A/N: yeah, I know, kinda takes off in a different direction than the first chapter. But I have to get each character introduced! Plus, dramatic tension is always a good thing.


	4. Chapter Three

Liam's POV:

Chapter Three

I was stunned that anyone would want to take that painting of my mother. That one wasn't even very good. I sincerely wish that I didn't see her every day. Would you want to see your mother if every time you saw her she hinted that you should get married? I remembered the last conversation that I had with her, just two days ago.

"When are you going to get married, Liam? You are twenty years old, you know," she had said in a scolding tone.

"Yes, mother, I remember my age quite well," I had replied, rolling my eyes. She had then proceeded to scold me on how I must marry sooner than later and how she would simply die if I didn't. _Personally,_ I thought. _I wouldn't mind if she did._ It would certainly save me a lot of trouble.

Later, I confided in my sister, Emilia. I told her that I had to wait for just the right person to come along, not just some fortune-huntress who couldn't care less about me, and vise versa. Emilia had laughed.

"Yeah, right, big brother," she had said bitterly. "We're royalty. We don't get to marry whom we like. Our marriages are for money and more power for the realm. For all that we're royalty, it seems that we get less freedom than the lowest peasant. Our marriages of convenience, not of choice. I personally would like to kill the King who invented that."

"Um, Emilia. He's dead already," I said.

"I don't care!" she said, and tears started coming from her green eyes that were so like mine. My sister didn't cry that much, so I knew that something was seriously wrong. Did _she_ love someone who wasn't a nobleman or a prince?

When I saw that scruffy street girl take the painting off the hook, I almost let her have it. But then I rethought it out, and approached her. I have perfected the art of walking silently to get around my younger brothers and sisters (and especially Her Royal Highness, the royal pain-in-the-neck, a.k.a., my mother), so I took her by surprise.

I had been wandering around in the halls of the palace, trying to think about what life would be like outside of the palace. I felt that I would never know. There was a law forbidding commoners to come inside of the palace. No one knew when this law had been passed, or why it had been made up. It was just upheld with no reason at all. And the person who upheld it the most strongly was the Provost himself.

The Provost was a brute of a man- big, brawny, and ruthless. He was handy out on a battlefield, but anywhere else he was just cruel. He tortured animals and he tortured his prisoners. Not physically- that was illegal; a law passed by my great-great-grandfather- but mentally. Telling them horrible stories of what awaited them the day after tomorrow, and then drawing the days out. Some of his prisoners went insane. My father was too scared to get rid of him and hire someone else, so our current Provost had been in his position for about twenty-five years.

When the girl turned around, I found myself looking at the most defiant face that I had ever seen. Her astonishingly _clear_ gray eyes were glaring into mine, and brown hair surrounded her face. _She probably doesn't even suspect that she's pretty,_ I thought. Then I mentally shook myself and pulled rank on her, even though I detest pulling rank on people. But I'll need practice if I'm going to be King someday.

"What, pray tell, where you doing trying to steal that picture of my mother?" I asked her. Or rather, demanded of her. Unfortunately, this only seemed to increase her defiance. Her mouth clamped shut.

I sighed. _How can I pull rank on people if they refuse to be pulled rank on? _I thought. "Will you at least tell me your name?"

She looked at me suspiciously for a second. Then she deemed me worthy of her name. And me, the Crown prince!

"People call me the Princess of Thieves." I must have looked doubtful because she shot me a look that said _do you have a problem with that?_ I backed off.

"And I am Liam, Crown Prince of Remalna." I executed an elaborate bow.

A shocked moment of silence followed my statement. Then she said, "I thank you, your highness. But I really must be going." And with that, and a mock-curtsy, she slipped out of my grasp and out the door.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this lowly girls PREDICTABLE story. I am sorry if this turns out a little predictable, but I'm a hopeless romantic, and things like this can only turn out certain ways if a hopeless romantic is writing them.


	5. Chapter Four

Rosalie's POV:

Chapter Four

I'd never run so fast in my life. Away from that-that _prince_ person, and towards safety. As I passed the guards at the gate, I gasped out, "The princess needs more information!" I saw them back away from me, afraid of stopping the princess's own spy. I almost laughed at the insanity of the situation.

I thought of how I'd gotten caught by that prince, and felt that if I'd seen him again, I would have spat on his perfectly shined boots. I could feel anger welling up inside of me and the last thing that I wanted to do was go see Alex and bring him the painting. But I thought about what he might do- or rather, what he might do to my reputation- if I didn't show it to him. So, as slowly as I could without seeming suspicious, I walked to his tent.

"Well?" he said. "What did you get?"

I showed him the painting. He whistled in admiration and winced at the sight of the lady's face. "That must have taken some work. Were there guards posted around the painting?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. I don't think that this is even _near_ the best that they have up at that palace."

Alex's eyebrows shot straight up. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so." I replied. "Why else would there not be guards around that painting?" _Well, there sort of_ were_ guards around the painting, if you can count that prince as a guard, _said my evil mind.

"Well, if this isn't the best that they have, I'll keep it." He indicated the painting. I gasped in indignation and he noticed. "Well, if you're going to get something better at the palace, then you won't mind." He pushed me out of the tent.

I hesitated in front of the tent, wondering what would best show my contempt towards him. I spat in front of it and then walked away for the first five tents. Then I broke and ran.

My tent was about 20 down from Alex's. I had gotten a separate one when I turned 16. Now I had been there 3 years, and was very happy with its location, except for the fact that Alex lived nearby.

I entered the flap and threw myself down of the cot that was my bed. _I _hate _him!_ I thought to myself, and pounded my fists against the ground. I almost screamed in frustration at Alex. _Will he ever be satisfied? _

My stomach growled, and I almost smiled. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that I was hungry. And lucky for me, it was market day. Why was something so ordinary as hunger suddenly so amusing?

The picture of the prince suddenly loomed in my mind's eye. I banished the thought of him from my head and went out to charm the money from the pockets of the unsuspecting.

A/N: Thanks for all the input, guyths. You've been a big help. I hope that this (short) chapter measures up to your expectations.


	6. Chapter Five

**Liam's POV**

**Chapter Five:**

As soon as that 'Princess of Thieves' ran away, I half-heartedly chased her out of the room. But I knew that it was useless. I might know the halls of the palace better than she might, but she would be faster and more experienced with being chased. _She probably gets chased a lot at home, anyway, _said the sentimental part of my mind.

_Awww, I didn't know you cared! _said the cool, sarcastic part. _Well, if you want to meet up with her, you should find her in the main square, since it _is_ market day._

_Thanks, but no. Wait a minute,_ I thought. _Market day? It's been ages since I went to one of those! _

When I was younger, I used to dress up as a peasant and go to the main square on market days. I hadn't done it for a while because people used to suspect that I was the prince. I mean, the whole point of going to the square was to pretend that I wasn't. And if that girl was really the "Princess of Thieves" like she said, then she probably would be there, trying to steal something.

I found myself replaying those gray eyes turning to look into mine. Over and over and over and-

I wrenched my mind awake. _Enough_, I thought. _Now let's find some clothes._

I was able to find something by looking in the washing room. I silently apologized to the person who's tunic and shirt I was 'borrowing'. I stuffed them under my arm, silently hoped that no one was coming, and ran down the hall. I was heading towards my room, when I heard a scream.

"The Queen's portrait has been stolen! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

_Oh, damn,_ I thought. _I'm in for it now._

Since it wasn't Mother's most valuable and fanciest portrait, the fuss was relatively small. But there still was a fuss, and I was caught right in the middle of it.

When I finally reached my rooms, I had to hurry to get into the old breeches, tunic, and shirt, and mess up my hair. And I discovered that the servants had come in and dusted my room while all the commotion was going on, because I had to find places that I didn't even know existed in my room so I would have enough dirt to make me look... common enough. Judging by the state of those places, the servants probably didn't know about them either. At last, I was ready.

You've probably heard stories of princes and princesses dressing up like commoners to escape the hassle of the palace. And it happens a lot. So if I got caught, all I had to do was tell the catchers that I was just following an age-old tradition.

Well, my disguise worked. On my way out of the palace, I got yelled at three times by noble women that wanted me to do this or that. Finally, when I was almost to the palace gates, I got the hang of it, and put a look of meekness and humbleness of my face. It helped that not very many people had ever seen my face up close.

When I got to the marketplace, I wasn't sure what to do. I was jostled this way and that and no one noticed that I looked like the Crown prince. They all had only seen me from a distance, when I was parading through the streets on some celebration or another.

Finally, I managed to break free of the flow of the crowd. I sat down on a pile of empty sacks beside a baker's stall for a rest. The baker and a fishmonger were talking.

"Did you hear that the Princess had a run-in with the Crown prince?" the fishmonger asked.

"No, I didn't. What happened?" the baker replied.

It took me a few seconds for me to realize whom they were talking about. My younger sisters have run-ins with me every day. _No, you dolt!_ I thought. _They're talking about that Princess of Thieves. _I shivered at the thought. _That I would be gotten the best of by a common their! It is unthinkable!_

"-And she almost bumped into Derrick's stall!" the fishmonger was saying. "She was so angry. I thought that she was going to turn over every stand in the marketplace! If she's that careless, she's going to get caught by the Provost."

"That wouldn't happen to our Rosalie." the baker said. "She's too good."

Unfortunately, a customer came up to the baker's stall, and the conversation ended.

I slumped back on the bags. So her name was Rosalie. If that is whom they were talking about, that is. If Rosalie wasn't her name, than I had yet to figure it out.

**A/N**: haha! Do you see? GRAY eyes? GRAY? If you don't, you are not true Sherwood Smith lunatics. I'm sorry, I mean fanatics. I should be nicer– I'm one too.


	7. Chapter Six

Sorry, this is another short chapter. Homework piling up (damn sadistic teachers), lovely crap like that.

Rosalie's POV

Chapter Six

I had my stomach set on some freshly baked bread, so I headed over to Solomon, the baker. The walk wasn't that long, and I was glad, because I was afraid that I would run into Alex.

When I arrived at the stall, Solomon offered me a free roll. When I was about to take it, he snatched it away. "First," he said, " you have to tell me what happened to you up at the palace."

I sighed, but since I didn't have any other choice, I told him the entire story. Actually, the story provided an ideal diversion, and I was able to slip an entire loaf of bread into my carry-sack while I was acting the storyteller.

Then I saw the boy watching me from the edge of the stall. He was actually more of a man; about one or two years older than I was. But the funny thing was that I thought that I'd seen him somewhere before.

When I was finished with the story, Solomon handed me the bun and turned to some new customers. I walked over to the man.

"If you're looking to steal something," I said, "you'll have to wait until Solomon is properly occupied. Otherwise he'll spot you right away. He is really quick at catching thieves."

"Oh?" said the man. "Was he properly occupied when you took that bread?"

I blushed. No one had ever spotted me stealing anything before except for that prince. "Of course he was," I blustered. "I would not dare to steal it otherwise." Something about his voice seemed strangely familiar. "And if you're so perfect, who are you?"

He fumbled for a moment, as if searching for a name. "Um, um, er…Domanic! Yea, that's right, Domanic."

"And I am Rosalie, the Princess of Thieves, at your service." I swept a curtsey. For a moment, a look of satisfaction crossed Domanic's face, and I wondered why. "Where are you from, Domanic? I haven't seen you around here before."

"I'm from the pal- er, my father is a carpet merchant. We travel here and there. That's probably why you haven't seen me before."

"Ah," I said. Something in his words didn't ring true. That combined with the fact that he stuttered before answering each of my questions and the fact that he looked _really_ familiar. I looked around, and to my horror, I saw Alex coming over. "Oh, sorry. I have to go. See you around!" I took off, headed in the direction of my tent.

A/N: And voila! Another chapter of the worst fanfic in the history of fanfiction finished and posted. Review, slaves! No, I love my reviewers. Nevermind. I'm just going to shut up now.


	8. Chapter Seven

A/N: Well, kiddies, I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to get back in the practice of writing long chapters. The inspiration muses are on coffee break, and I can only hope that when they return they will be fully charged with caffeine.

Liam's POV

Chapter Seven

I was wondering why Rosalie had run off, when a big, hulking man walked up. He grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me.

"Wha- who are you?" I cried.

"You were looking at my girl." He said. "I don't like people looking at the Princess like that."

I wondered why people were so protective of Rosalie. Then it hit me. "Rosalie's your girlfriend?"

"Yea!" he replied. "Of course, she doesn't know it, but I can fix that. I'll make her see everything when she's ready." Then his thoughts returned to me, unfortunately. "But, like I said, I don't like people looking at her like that." He drew back his fist, ready to punch me in the face. I was so scared that I almost lost my head and told him who I was. But then I regained my composure and decided not to. I had learned lots of moves at the palace (because I was, of course, the Crown prince), and I decided that using one right now would save me a lot of pain. So I twisted his arm around his back, and broke free.

I ran hard and fast in the opposite direction, and I realized that I was running towards the palace. That was a good thing, I decided, until I bumped into an ill-dressed young merchant's daughter.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" she shouted. "Wait a minute- Liam?"

_Oh brother,_ I thought. _I'm in for it now._

It was my younger-by-one-year sister, Emilia, dressed in a gown that I remembered seeing on a chambermaid just a week ago. The dark colors went badly with her green eyes and the dirty blond hair that was the same color as mine.

"What are you doing here, Liam?" she asked.

"The same thing as you, except a little different, I expect, seeing as you've been making eyes at that serving boy for the past four weeks. Did you think that I wouldn't notice?"

Emilia blushed. "Well, don't make fun of Stefan. He's very nice, although you wouldn't know it. You don't notice any of the servants. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

It was my turn to blush. "Oh, just getting out of the palace without all those stifling guards." _Those guards would have been useful, back there with that scrap with that man. Who was he, anyway? And what did he mean by saying that Rosalie's his girl, but she doesn't know it? This is a very big problem._

At that minute, Rosalie approached. "Hey, Domanic!" Rosalie shouted. She eyed Emilia suspiciously. "Who's she?"

I noticed that Emilia was eyeing me. Her look said, _So this is why you went out of the palace._ I blushed so much that I must have looked like I had awful sunburn.

"Uh, this is my sister, uh, um, Anna! Yeah, that's right. Anna."

"Oh," said Rosalie, drawing it out with sarcasm. "And what are you doing, calling the princess a name that isn't hers? Or is it just because she _is _your sister? _Your Highness._"

Emilia and I exchanged looks that both said, _She's onto us_, and then Rosalie burst out laughing.


	9. Chapter Eight

Rosalie's POV

Chapter Eight

As soon as I ran away from "Domanic", and left him to his horrible fate with Alex, I remembered where I'd seen his face before.

_The Prince!_

I felt _so_ stupid. If I am Princess of Thieves, shouldn't I remember a face that gave me trouble? I mentally kicked myself.

_Well, he didn't really cause me trouble. I don't really mind seeing him again, _I thought, before I could stop myself. This time I literally kicked myself. "Ouch!" I cried. Bystanders looked at me strangely.

I figured that I would have to find the prince again, and make sure that he didn't get into _more_ trouble. Which he would, since he belonged at the palace, with all its gilt and finery, and this was the rough-and-tumble city. He wouldn't fit in, not in a million years.

So that's when I heard him talking to the girl that he called his sister, Emilia, and I remembered what I had told the guards. I almost laughed out loud. And believe it or not, she _was_ in love with Stefan, my older brother, who worked at the palace! How strange! She was in love with my older brother. I don't even like the prince. Not in the least bit. And what was his real name, anyway? I knew that I'd heard it somewhere, I just couldn't remember what it was. Usually he was just called the Crown Prince, or the prince. Liam! That was it! Liam was his name!

After introducing myself, showing that I knew their little secret, and enjoying their expressions of shock and dismay, I took them into my tent to make sure that nobody saw them. "This is an honor," I said. "It's not every day that I get royal visitors."

"Oh, Liam doesn't mind," said the princess, grinning wickedly. At this Liam blushed and I felt all funny inside. He muttered something that sounded remarkably like "Shut up, Emilia" under his breath. It was terribly unprincelike. I shook my head.

I was silent for a moment. Then I said, "You know, your highness, Stefan is my older brother. About your age," I said, nodding towards Liam. At this, Emilia drew in her breath and looked at me hopefully. "If you want, I could arrange a meeting for you. If I'm not mistaken, he's been mooning over a princess called Emilia for the past month now."

"Oh, yes!" She cried, but then got a hold on herself. "If it doesn't trouble you- Rosalie, isn't it?" I made a little bow in acknowledgment. "And you may call me Emilia," she continued.

"I thank your highness- er, I mean Emilia." I replied, and giggled a little.

Emilia looked expectantly at the prince. "Oh, all right. You can call me Liam," he said, grudgingly.

"Come on, Liam. We'd better go. People up at the palace will be wondering where we are." She looked at me. "We'll be back- if it's all right with you, Rosalie." I nodded.

"Till next time then!" I said, and Emilia and Liam walked away.

I watched the backs of the two royal siblings moving steadily away from me. _How do they avoid being found out? Anyone can tell, by their walk alone, that they are not from the lower class!_

Then something struck me about the prince's back. It had a certain appeal to me that only could lead to one conclusion in my mind. And when I conjured up a picture of Liam's face before my eyes, my internal reaction only gave further grounds for my suspicions.

Life! I _fancied _the Crown Prince of Remalna!


	10. Chapter Nine

Sorry for the shortness of the chapters. Have the feeling that they'll be like this for a while. The inspiration muses have been ignoring me, and no amount of trying to force them is going to have any effect whatsoever. If that makes any sense.

Liam's POV

Chapter Nine

As Emilia and I left Rosalie's tent, Emilia nudged me.

"You really go for the beauties, don't you, Liam. First it was Cracilia, of the Delicate Complexion, then Mary, of the Rosy Lips, and now Rosalie, Princess of Thieves. My, my, Liam. You really are turning out to be a lady hunter." I blushed and she wolf-whistled. "She really likes you, older brother. Do you see the way that she looks at you?" I looked away. Sisters were put on this planet just to laugh at their sibling's secrets, and crushes were a feast for their cruelty.

"I, for one, am glad that you met her. She said that Stefan and I can meet regularly." She sighed, looking dreamy-eyed.

"Now look at the one who has a crush," I told her. It was her turn to blush, and blush she did.

"Brothers," I heard her mutter under her breath.

We arrived at the palace unhindered by anyone. After we changed into our palace clothes, we met in my room, and I asked Emilia when she'd ever met this Stefan of hers.

She looked down. "Three times we've met, behind the big oak tree in the courtyard. You know, the one that's almost up against that big, ugly, stone wall," I nodded. "Well, the meetings haven't been very romantic. We were almost found out the last two times. Because of that, both of us agreed to try to find a safer meeting place. But, now that you've fallen in love with his sister-" I started to protest, but she cut me off. "This won't be a problem any more. I'm _so _glad that you picked her, Liam." I sighed and rolled my eyes. No amount of persuading would convince her that I was _not _in love with Rosalie.

But then I had a sudden flash of insight. I realized that the reason that I acted so strangely around Rosalie was because those feelings matched up to the ones that I'd had for Mary and Cracilia, only stronger. And then I realized that Emilia was right- I _was_ in love with Rosalie, more in love with her than I had been with anyone else.

Something didn't match up, though. Things like this- love at first sight- just happened in the ballads that minstrels made up when they were very desperate, and down on their luck. Then I shrugged, and brushed that thought off. Who am I to question the whims of fate? Especially when they caused such interesting things to happen.

I was happy for a second, but then a thought hit me. This sort of thing just wasn't done! I was in love with a commoner- that had gone out of fashion years ago, and my parents would only let me marry a commoner if it went back into fashion (fat chance). Either that or she rescued me from some evil attempt on my life, or the life of one of my brothers or sisters (again- fat chance).

"So, big brother," said Emilia. "Have you met 'just the right one' yet?"

I recalled our conversation. I almost nodded in response to her question but then stopped myself. I refused to give her that satisfaction.

Uh, Liam? Are you all right?" That was Emilia. "You look as white as a sheet, and you're rocking back and forth. Is something wrong?"

_Emilia_, I thought. _You don't have the slightest idea how wrong_ _things are._


	11. Chapter Ten

A/N: thank you all my lovely lovely little daisy-colored reviewers! I admit that this chapter is incredibly short, but the next one is longer. Loooooooooooooonger. Get the picture?

Rosalie's POV:

Chapter Ten

I couldn't get over the fact that I was in love with someone about a million social classes above me. I tried to reassure myself with the fact that a lot of girls my age would be in love with the prince. It's not like he's bad looking, and if girls can have crushes on the actors that perform on the Remalnan Stage, then surely they can fall in love with the Crown prince. But in the back of my mind I knew that people hardly ever got to _see_ the prince, let alone have a crush on him. I was in deep trouble. If anyone found out that I had a prince and the princess of Remalna (and not just any prince- the _Crown_ prince) in my tent, then I would be executed before you could say "dead meat". Nothing could make the judge see that it was their own free will that made them come. The prince and princess would hardly need help from a commoner. Or so they thought.

But on a lighter note- where could I get a safe meeting place for Emilia and Stefan? First, I had to brainstorm all the places that were really secluded. If anyone found them together, not only I, but Stefan as well, would be executed.

The old barn would be safe- unless some of the children came by to slide down the musty piles of hay. How about behind the high, old wall? But adults go there regularly for their meetings. Think, Rosalie, think! In the dried up old well? It opened up nicely in the bottom, and no one really acknowledged that it existed. It would be easy to get in and out if they could get a ladder! So I decided on that. Now, to tell Stefan…

He was overjoyed when he heard my news. I looked at him closely, and I realized what a good match he and Emilia would make. Climbing down the well would be no problem to a girl with her amount of head-strongness. And Stefan needed someone to take control of him, if I know my older brother. Emilia and Stefan really loved each other.

"I hope that you realize how dangerous this is." I warned Stefan.

"Of course I have- several times over. But I don't care. Nothing can stand in my way now that you've found a way for me to see Emilia," replied Stefan, who looked so happy that I didn't say that a sword in the heart would certainly get in the way of their romance quite a bit. Oh, well. Let him live his little dream. He had what he wanted, anyway.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Liam's POV:

Chapter Eleven

It was the day after my discussion with Emilia, and I remembered the painting that Rosalie had stolen. I knew that hardly anyone paid attention to its loss. It had been replaced a few hours after the loss of the painting had been discovered, by a picture of a milkmaid and a cowherd in love. _Typical gushy picture of an unscandelous couple,_ I thought. But even though no one cared, I felt that as long as I knew who had the painting, I might as well go get it back. No matter what people might whisper behind my back.

So, stupidly, I set off for Rosalie's tent again, wearing a different set of clothes. Even though they were dusty, I saw people glance at me with suspicion. I hunched my shoulders till it ached, and people stopped looking at me that way. Indeed, they hardly looked at me at all, despite my constant stumbling. I thought that I would lose control of my stomach once, and throw up.

I reached the row that had her tent, and began walking down. Little did I know that the Colossus had his tent in the same row.

I saw him leave his tent, and ducked too late.

He growled when he saw me, and started towards me at a deliberate pace. I panicked, and almost ran, but then steadied myself. I would have to face him down sooner than later if I wanted to keep on visiting Rosalie.

Like the last time that our paths had crossed, he began out confrontation with threatening words.

"What are you doing here? I said that I would beat you up if I caught you looking at Rosalie again."

Try as I might, I just couldn't remember him saying this, and I suspected that it was because his brain was so small that he just couldn't remember what he had and hadn't said. I told him so. Big mistake, there.

"What did you say?" he asked threateningly. I honestly couldn't think about one aspect of this guy that wasn't threatening. Even his gigantic stomach looked threateningly ready to crush the person who was lucky enough to be under in when he landed on them.

"I, uh, um," I said wisely. If I had been talking to Emilia, she would have said "Ooh, that comeback really hurt, Liam!"

This guy was too stupid to know that what I'd just said didn't really hold anything against him. "Oh yeah?" he cried. "Well, we'll just see about that!" He looked ready to take a swing at me. I was ready to duck. His fist had just started forward when-

"What's going on? Who are you beating up this time?" came a voice that sounded blessedly familiar.

It was Rosalie. As the man moved aside, I saw her mouth gape open.

"Li- er, Domanic! What are you doing here? Go away," she told the man. "Beat up on someone else. Someone your own size."

I felt like saying, _If he can find someone,_ but when I caught the glare that the Behemoth sent my way, I decided against it.

When the Incredible Hulk had left, and Rosalie and I were safely in her tent, she said, "Liam, what are you doing here? You could have been killed back there! Do you know how dangerous it is out in the city? Especially for the Crown prince of Remalna."

"I think that I've learned that much," I retorted. "I just wanted that painting back. It's been on my conscience, and I can see that it's on all of the courtiers' minds. I even heard one lady say to another 'Did you know that there's been a _commoner_ dirtying up our palace?' All I want to do is take the painting back. Can you give it to me?"

To my dismay, Rosalie shook her head. "I'm sorry. Alex has it, and I'm afraid to ask for it back."

"That's simple. I'll just go and get it. He doesn't know what I look like," I replied.

Rosalie shook her head. "But he does know. That guy- the one about to kill you, outside, that's Alex."

"Ah," I said, wincing a bit. "I see your problem." I rose to my feet and bowed, the picture of the perfect nobleman. "I'll not cause you any more trouble, then. Goodbye"

It was two days after my last meeting with Rosalie, and Emilia and I were going to see her again. It was not a really busy day in the square, so neither of us had a problem getting to her tent without being found out, or, in the least, jostled and bruised. I'd been dreading seeing her again, because I would act so awfully that I would be embarrassed. And let me tell you something, if you're thinking, _Awww, is the little pwince embawwassed?_ I am not embarrassed that often, and I get angry with the person who makes me feel that way. Angry as in I start plotting their murder. But don't worry; I've never actually pulled one off.

Anyway, Emilia and I entered Rosalie's tent, and automatically, I blushed and looked down. After the worst was over, I peeped up and saw that Rosalie was blushing too. But I didn't notice anything right after that, because I started to get dizzy, and my legs shook. I quickly sat down on a handy chair. Rosalie and Emilia were looking at me strangely. "It must be the heat," I said, quickly.

"Oh. Right. The heat," said Emilia, not quite convinced. It had been raining cold showers for the past two days, but had just stopped. It still was very cold.

"I have your meeting place," said Rosalie. "It's in a dried-up well. It will work very nicely if you can climb."

"_If_ I can climb? You're looking at the finest royal climber that there ever was! And you ask if I can _climb_?" said Emilia, her voice rising in volume at every sentence.

"Right. Okay," said Rosalie.

"The largest thing that she ever climbed was the tree in the courtyard. I'm not saying that tree isn't tall, but there are better climbers in the world." I just had to put in my bit, and Emilia was glaring daggers at me. I should have known that a sister's pride is one of the most delicate things in the universe. Would I ever learn? Hmmmm… and the answer is: never!

Rosalie showed us the well, and how to get to it. She literally made Emilia _memorize_ the directions. Rosalie had also brought a ladder, and Emilia was so eager to try to get into the well that she almost fell into it!

"It's so cool down here!" she shouted up. "I don't think that I'll ever leave it!"

"I'm glad that you like it," said Rosalie. "Stefan and I used to spend hours in there. It's really great for sleeping out in when it's warmer."

I was about to ask if I could go down, too, when I had another weak-attack. My legs buckled under me, and I crashed to the ground. Rosalie started, and looked at me. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Maybe you'd better sit down. You look pale." It was like I wasn't sitting down already.

"What am I missing? I'm coming up," said Emilia from inside the well.

"Oh, you're not missing much, except for the fact that you're brother looks pretty badly. What were you thinking, to bring him out here in this condition?"

"What condition?" Emilia asked. "He was fine this morning, when we left!"

"That's right, I'm fine," I said, struggling to my feet. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, because the next thing I knew, I had fainted.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N**:** yes indeedy, I did update. Surprised? I sure am. The fate of this fic is unknown even to my omniscient mind. Not what'll happen to the characters– as many of my clever readers have figured out, this isn't one of the most complex and mysterious fics out there– just pure pure fluff. But I'm not sure whether or not I should continue. Anyways, here is a scene with even more fluff than usual. Enjoy!**

Rosalie's POV:

Twelve

When I saw Liam topple into the well, I know that I screamed. It was a long way down there, and no one could survive that fall. _Maybe he has a chance,_ I thought desperately. _He can find some way to cushion his tumble, and then he won't be seriously hurt._

The next few seconds felt like decades as I waited for news from Emilia or Liam, down in the well. Finally it came with a surprised "Ooof!". Then:

"Rosalie?" she called.

"Yeah? What happened?"

"He fell on top of me. I'm sore, but neither of us is hurt. Rosalie- he's unconscious!"

"Did he hit his head?"

"No. I told you that neither of us is hurt. It must have happened just before he fell. In fact, that's probably _why_ he collapsed in the first place. I know Liam- he isn't clumsy," she replied.

"Can you bring him back up?" I asked her. I could hear shuffling down in the well. Then-

"No, I can't. He's too heavy. Look, you're stronger than I am. Could you try and lift him up, while I follow behind, supporting his feet?" she asked.

"No chance. I'd have to be _so _much stronger. I know! Alex!" I shouted.

"Alex? Who's Alex?" she asked.

"He's a friend of mine who- never mind. Just don't let him know that you're royal. He has a grudge against royal people."

"Are you sure that it's wise, then, letting him handle Liam?" She sounded worried.

"Just let me do this, okay?" I snapped. I was really worried. I wasn't sure if even _Alex_ could accomplish this.

"Fine. You know the ways of this place more than I do. Just make sure that Liam doesn't get hurt."

After a bit of wrangling with him, I managed to get Alex to come with me. At times I was afraid that he knew who I was talking about, but luckily, those fears came to nothing.

I watched Alex descend into the well. He was going as slowly as he could, and I hated him even more for it. But the weirdest thing happened as soon as he reached the bottom of the hole.

As soon as Alex saw the prince, I thought that he went crazy. His eyes widened, and I could see the whites all the way around them. He started shouting at me, and shouting at Emilia, and shouting at the prince. There really was no point in that, because the prince was unconscious. He started raving and waving his arms, and I thought that he was going to kill either Liam or Emilia. I was scared, and Emilia certainly was. I knew this, because she was cowering against the wall.

I was starting down into the well. Alex was going to be very hard to stop once he got all worked up. The only thing that I could think of was _why is he doing this? Why? Why?_ And that wasn't any help.

Alex had raised his foot over Liam's head, and I could tell that he was going to stamp down hard. The foot started to come down, and I sprang into action.

"NO!" I cried. I reached the bottom of the well and ran over to Alex. I shoved him out of stomping range, and he sat down hard. His flying foot hit me in the stomach. I just hesitated a moment to see if Liam was all right and to get my air back. Liam looked fine, and he was coming around. Then I turned on Alex.

"Get off him, you maniac! What were you thinking?" I shouted at Alex.

He was white and shaking. "Him- and you. What- I- _I'll kill him! And then I'll be King!_" This last comment made me and Emilia back away. Or at least, it made me back away. Emilia was already one with the wall.

Alex was going crazy. He was about to grab Liam again and kill him. Then it wouldn't matter whether we got him out of the well or not.

I had to do something. But what could I do? I decided to get Liam out of danger first, so I darted forward and tried to grab him. Alex, sensing what I was about to do, made a move forward. I socked him, and sent him reeling back with blood streaming from his nose. I hoped that I'd broken it, though it was unlikely. I dragged Liam back towards me. Luckily, he had revived enough to not rest all of his weight on me.

Alex tried to make a move towards Liam, but this time, Emilia hit him on the back of the head with a piece of wood that had fallen when I'd made my hurried descent into the well.

Alex lurched forward, and then thought better of it when he saw Emilia waving the wood towards his head and my outstretched fists . "You won't get away with this!" he cried. "The prince will die anyway, and you will be my bride and I'll kill you all!" Then, even though he was half-senseless, he climbed the ladder and, laughing crazily, ran away.

Emilia was half sobbing when he left, and I think that it occurred to her that he wanted to kill her brother and might have succeeded. She ran over to Liam, who was beginning to come around and asked him repeatedly if he was all right. Liam was on the verge of being able to speak, and from what I could make out, all he could do was nod dumbly. Then it occurred to _me _that the prince could have died. I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me and I suddenly lost control over my body. _Liam. Dead? _was all that I could think of. Then my body did the unthinkable. My legs walked me over to him, my waist bent me down, and all of a sudden, I was kissing the Crown prince of Remalna.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Right then. Here's the chapter, but unless something miraculous happens, I have doubts about whether or not to finish it. I know this is short, but it's because teachers seem to have this insane obsession with homework, and it is eating up all my time. Just remember several things: one, I own nothing, and never will. Two: fluff rules all, and plots are overrated.**

Chapter Thirteen

Liam's POV:

I awoke to see a fight going on over my body. Rosalie socked the big guy that had tried to beat me up in the marketplace, and then Emilia brained him with a big stick. _Bravo, Emilia!_ I thought. The big guy left, and I noticed a gigantic pain in my head. I moaned and Rosalie started and walked over to me. She hesitated a moment, and then kissed me. I didn't move. I don't think that I _could_ move, if I had a mind to, but I didn't mind in the least.

Emilia began clapping, and Rosalie and I jumped apart. "Oh, don't mind me," Emilia said. We both blushed. But then I regained control of my arms pulled her face down to mine again.

"Can you move any more?" she asked me when we came up for air. I tried to, and succeeded in standing up. "Good," she said.

We climbed out of the hole. I figured that I owed my life to Rosalie and Emilia, and told them so. "Isn't it nice to have a man groveling at your feet instead of you at theirs?" asked Emilia. Rosalie laughed, and nodded. Then they told me what had happened when I had been out.

"So now we know that guy- Alex is his name, right? So now we know that guy Alex is out for the throne of Remalna and wants to marry you, Rosalie. And if I'm not wrong, my weakness is connected to this creeps plans. Do you think so?" The girls nodded. "So now what we need to know is how to stop this guy. Are you with me? Yay or nay?"

The girls looked at each other and didn't say anything. All you could hear were our footsteps, and those of people walking passed us. I figured that if I had been stronger, I would have shoved both of them.

"YAY!" was the chorus from the girls, and they burst out laughing, but I hardly noticed it, because I had another bad dizzy attack and had to sit down. Rosalie and Emilia stopped laughing and looked at me worriedly as they helped me up. They continued to support me as we made our way to the palace, people looking at us strangely and asking, "Is he all right?" All Emilia and Rosalie would do was nod their heads and say, "Just a little fall," to the people who looked particularly worried. Only people who looked like they had more than a little money asked if I was okay, though. The rest were poorer, and had seen worse then the state that I was in. Such as missing arms and/or legs. But not even very many of the rich folks noticed, since it was getting dark. I was glad of that, since the wealthy people would be the people who would know Emilia, at least one of our parents, or me. If they noticed us, it would mean certain death to Rosalie, and I didn't want that at all.

I stumbled and nearly fell. Rosalie caught me and held me tighter, which I can't say that I minded. I felt another definite dizzy spell coming on, and I told Emilia and Rosalie so. Emilia held me tighter this time, almost as tight as Rosalie. The dizzy spell came and passed, and I almost passed out again.

"All over?" asked Emilia. I nodded.

"C'mon, Mr. Prince. Lets get you back to the palace," said Rosalie.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: And it only gets lamer...**

Chapter Fourteen

Rosalie's POV:

After I helped Emilia deliver a half-unconscious Liam to the gates of the palace, I walked back to my tent humming. It was death to any peasant who went inside the palace gates unless they were working there. But no matter what, life was so good. Liam actually _loved_ me, even though he was about 50 social classes above me. He hadn't looked at me strangely and pushed me away when I lost my senses and actually _kissed_ the Crown prince of Remalna.

But what was wrong with him? Liam thought that it was Alex, but it couldn't be. It just couldn't. I had the sneaking suspicion that it was a spell. But who could have cast it? I didn't know of anyone who knew magic, except the Court magicians. And they were all devoted to the royal family. If they did anything against the family, it was "off with his head," or "string her up!"

It was probably someone who hated Liam, and the only people that I could think of that would hate the prince were the thieves and beggars. And bullies. That thought led me to think about the way Alex had acted when he saw the prince. But then I dismissed the thought. Alex didn't know magic. Only people with the talent and who were in the upper classes could learn magic. Then I remembered that Alex had told me that he had been kicked out of his royal home in a neighboring kingdom when he was 15. Magic was a possibility for him, though he wouldn't have a full training. And what about that funny little set-up that I had spotted when I barged into his tent, looking for help for Liam? Didn't the Court magicians use signs and stuff, to help their magic?

But I couldn't focus all of my attention on Alex. Surely there were other suspects, too. But, try as I might, I just couldn't think of any! I knew no one that might have such a grudge against Liam so that they might try to kill him! I wouldn't even have _Alex_ as a suspect, if I hadn't seen the way that he had acted when he saw Liam.

I needed comfort, so I went to my only available relative: Stefan. Of course, he was astonished at my predicament.

"You _kissed_ the Crown prince? _The_ Crown prince?" I was annoyed at the expression of shock on his face. Hurt, too.

"Well, what other Crown prince of Remalna is there? And he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he kissed me back!" As I said this, I blushed.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry. You can stop looking like your face is on fire now. So the prince is suspiciously sick. Who can you suspect?" I told him.

"Well, I can't say that it's unlikely. Alex has his motives, and he can probably have some of the training, too. I never liked Alex," said Stefan.

"So? What can I do about it?" I asked.

"Spy on him, and keep in contact with Emilia and the prince. Especially Emilia, if the prince's condition is anything like you say it is," I suspected that he had an alternative motive for saying this. And when he added, "Since you have me involved already, I may as well run messages from you to Emilia," I knew.

"Gee, thanks for all the help," I said sarcastically. Stefan held up his hands in defense.

"Okay. I'll help you in the hard stuff. Just promise me that you'll let me run the messages as well," he begged.

"I promise," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Good," he said. "Now go away. I'm tired and you're getting on my nerves.

As I left the tent I decided to get on with spying of Alex as soon as I could. And that meant that night. I sighed and thought of that old, annoying proverb: _there's no time like the present._ So I walked to Alex's tent and began spying through the back flap of the tent. He was checking on a diagram and seemed to be laughing inside. And that was when I realized that he was crazy. Absolutely stark raving mad. I had often thought of Alex as crazy before, but that had been affectionately. I didn't have any affection for him anymore.

Alex looked around him, as if he was listening for something. I ran away.


End file.
